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THE VITAL INDEX IN 
DEVELOPMENT 



BY 

BURCHARD W. DE BUSK 

University of Oregon 



A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF 
CLARK UNIVERSITY. WORCESTER, MASS.. IN PARTIAL 
FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DE- 
GREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, AND ACCEPTED 
ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF G. STANLEY HALL 



Reprinted from the Pedagogical Seminary 
March, 1917, Vol. XXIV, pp. 1-18 



THE VITAL INDEX IN 
DEVELOPMENT 



BY 
BURCHARD W. DE BUSK 



A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF 
CLARK UNIVERSITY. WORCESTER. MASS.. IN PARTIAL 
FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DE- 
GREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, AND ACCEPTED 
ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF G. STANLEY HALL 



Reprinted from the Pedagogical Seminary 
March, 1917, Vol. XXIV, pp. 1-18 



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LJ5 ■ 



THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 



By BuRCHARD W, De Busk, University of Oregon 



There is perhaps no more important problem for educa- 
tion than that of the physiological development of children 
during the school age. It would seem that the rate of growth 
sets a limit to learning beyond which the skill of the teacher 
can not go. For since the work of Porter (20) there has 
been good reason to believe that learning is not only condi- 
tioned by growth but that in these earlier years the rate of 
physiological maturing and that of mental development are 
closely related. Not only this early study but the later work 
of Smedley (24), Crampton (7), Goddard (13), Arnold (i) 
and others show that physical and mental retardation go to- 
gether. The work of Gilbert (12) on the other hand would 
indicate that the reverse is true. Whether or not these dif- 
ferences in conclusions are due to technique and methods of 
classification is still a problem. It would seem that there 
ought to be a close agreement between the grade position of 
a pupil and the teacher's estimate of his ability, yet the con- 
clusions of investigators using these two methods of classi- 
fication are not in agreement. 

A preliminary investigation of the writer (9) using the 
grade age method of classification agreed in the main with 
the conclusions of Porter (20) and Smedley (24). It was 
noticed in this study that the vital indices of those children 
below grade averaged much lower than that of those above 
grade. A study was accordingly begun using the mental age 
as the basis of classification. It was hoped if a satisfactory 
method were employed which would select out the mentally 



2 THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 

retarded and accelerated that a comparison of the anthropo- 
metric measurements of the two groups would reveal some 
fundamental difference. The two hundred children of the 
Colorado Teachers' College, one hundred and four boys and 
ninety-six girls were selected for the study. The number is 
small but the growth curve of the individual is very similar 
to that of the group. And the small number enabled one to 
keep sight of the individual in the group. 

The following data were secured, the name, age, physiolog- 
ical age from the teeth, the mental age, grade, height, weight, 
vital capacity, condition of the teeth and of the tonsils, and 
the presence or absence of nasal obstruction. To these were 
added from the records of the school the results of the eye 
and ear examinations made by Dr. J. D. Heilman of the 
department of psychology. The height and weight were meas- 
ured by scales and stadiometer in use in the clinical depart- 
ment. A wet spirometer was used to determine the vital 
capacity. For this measurement the children were taken in 
groups and the element of competition introduced into the 
test. Each child was permitted a number of trials and the 
best record taken. It may be stated here that the children 
had had frequent experience with the spirometer. From the 
above the relation of weight to height was determined, believ- 
ing that this index would express the general state of nutri- 
tion of the individual. The vital indices were also computed. 
It will be remembered that this index marked the greatest 
difference between the accelerated and the retarded groups in 
the preliminary investigation. The classification into the three 
groups, the accelerated, the normal and the retarded, was 
based upon the 191 1 revision of the Binet scale. The averages 
are given in the tables. 

Historical. In 1889 Gratsianoff (14) in Russia measured 
the children of Arznus and brought out the fact that the suc- 
cessful children were larger than the unsuccessful and that 
their rate of growth was quicker. Sack (23) rejected this 
because of the small number but his own investigation con- 
firmed Gratsianoff's ( 14) results. These studies ^ were un- 
known to Dr. W. T. Porter (20) when he began his work in 
St. Louis, which was undertaken to find the laws of growth, 
in order that the school work might be fitted to the ability of 
the pupil. The method of classification was that of the grade 
age. Porter raised three questions all of which he answered 
in the affirmative. Are dull children weaker if size is to be 
taken as the index of strength? Is mediocrity associated with 
mediocrity of physique? Is there a physical basis of pre- 
cocity? Bright children were found to be taller and heavier 



THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT i 

tv,an dull Successful children were also found to have larger 
chestsUian tile unsuccessful. These facts led Porter to con- 

''"^No^'child whose weight is below the average of its age 
should be permitted to enter a grade beyond the ave age of 
ts age except after such a physical exammafon as sha 1 make 
it prSbable that the child's strength ^hall be equa to the task 

In November of the same year J. Allen Gilbert (12) ot 
Yale published his Researches on the Mental and Phys cal 
Development of School Children for the purpose of deter- 
mfnTnrthe correlation between the physical and mental de- 
velopment. He classified pupils on a basis of the teacher s 
estimate as bright, average and dull. He writes m regard 

*''*^e"sSement is made by Porter that the brighter the 
child the taller he is. Brightness and du Iness in his tests 
were decided by the examination grades, which it is needless 
to say are often very poor mental tests. In my results no 
such relation could be traced." . 

The same negative conclusion was drawn in legard to 
weio-ht The correlation between vital capacity and mental 
ability was also indifferent and limited. In his Iowa studies 
of 1807 the same negative conclusions were reached. If any- 
thing positive can be stated. Gilbert thinks, it is that the 
heavier and taller children are the duller 

G M. West (26) from his study of school children ot 
Canada found as a general rule that the poor, that is the dull 
children were more fully developed than the good. In fact 
the po"; were the better developed throughout except girls 
at fourteen and boys at thirteen. For this reason he coi^id- 
ered it safe to conclude that precocity bore an inverse ratio to 

'I'lSedtrS -investigated the conclusions of Porter using 
the anthropometric measurements of the sd.ool children of 
Chicago. It is clear from his data that the children who have 
made the greater intellectual advancement are on the whole 
Slier hea.'ier and have the greater vital capacity. He found 
hat the pupils of the John Worthy school or truants and 
lncorrigibLs\vere inferior in all the principal measurements 
taken and that the inferiority increased with age. 

Kline (16) found in his study of truants that the mean height, 
weight and chest circumference was less than the correspond- 
TngVeasurements of public school boys '", 7«;y .«f ^^^^^ 
except the age of ten, when they were equal in height and 

"^ Bdieving that the correlations of Porter were essentially 



4 THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 

correct, Goddard (13) compared the growth in height and 
weight of feeble-minded children with the normal. He found 
that for boys the feeble-minded were shorter and weighed less, 
age for age, than the normal. For the girls the situation with 
regard to height was much the same. For weight the girls 
seemed to deviate less from the normal than the boys. Having 
established the above Goddard turned his attention to the 
difference in the different grades of defect. He concludes 
that it is evident that the mental condition is correlated with 
the physical. The idiot he finds to be inferior to the imbecile 
physically. Size and efficiency go together in the long run. 
The cause that has acted to impair mind and brain has affected 
the entire growth process. 

As the result of an extended study of physical growth and 
school progress, based on consecutive measurements at yearly 
and half yearly periods Baldwin comes to the conclusion that 
" If pedagogical age be accepted as a fair equivalent to mental 
development, the tall heavy boys and girls with good lung 
capacity are older physiologically and are further along in 
their stages of growth toward mental maturity as evidenced 
by school progress than are the short, light boys and girls." 

On the other hand Wiazemsky (27a) concluded from a 
study of factors that influence growth that the less endowed 
surpass the more intelligent in their physical development. 
This is true especially for the beginning and the end of the 
period studied by him, that is, from ten to twenty years. The 
recent study of Arnold on Weight and School Progress brings 
out again the fact that the heavier children of a given age 
are to be found in the more advanced grades. His results 
are confirmed by the results of Hogue, whose tables are 
reprinted by him. 

Historical Summary. Porter and Smedley in the United 
States conclude that the bright children are taller and heavier 
than the dull. These results are based on the age grade method 
of classification. Arnold and Hogue confirm the weight re- 
sults. Baldwin using school marks comes to the same con- 
clusion. On the other hand Gilbert found no constant relation 
and West a negative one. Both these investigators used the 
teachers' estimate of ability as the basis of classification. Mac- 
Donald, however, using the same method, confinned the 
results of Porter and Smedley. Using spirometry Smedley 
found that successful children had larger vital capacity than 
unsuccessful. Gilbert found that correlation to be indifferent 
or negative, except that from ten to fifteen the dull children 
have the larger capacities. The investigation of Baldwin and 
the preliminary study of the writer confirmed Smedley's re- 



THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 5 

suits. Wiazemsky measured the chest circumference and 
found good pupils to be superior at all ages except from 
twelve to thirteen and from fourteen to fifteen. 

Height. Height is the most distinctly human of all the 
measurements, representing as it does a definite racial char- 
acteristic. Heredity preserves a definite norm which all its 
members tend to attain within rather narrow limits. So 
having the norm for the different ages established, height gives 
a fair index of the development of the individual. Bowditch 
pointed out that the taller individuals, that is, those in advance 
of the norm for their age reached the rapid growth period 
earlier. This fact has again been brought out recently by 
Baldwin. These taller boys and girls he says are the physio- 
logically accelerated boys and girls. They complete their ele- 
mentary school course earlier, he continues, and as a rule 
make higher grades than the shorter boys and girls whom he 
regards as physiologically retarded. If this finding holds as 
it certainly does for relatively large numbers then height in 
relation to the norm of a given age is a criterion of physio- 
logical age and these taller boys and girls have attained a 
greater proportion of their mature height. Growth in height 
is rapid in early childhood and falls to a minimum about 
ten or eleven. This period of retardation is followed by one 
of acceleration beginning with pubescence. Acceleration 
alternating with retardation is a general law of growth, true 
of the individual as well as of the group. Every study since 
Quetelet has shown the period of retardation from eight or 
nine to ten or eleven, followed by a period of acceleration 
lasting about four years. With girls this period of accelera- 
tion begins a year or two earlier than with boys and accounts 
for the fact that from eleven to fifteen in general, girls are 
taller than boys. Thus the data presented in this study are 
typical. But not only are the girls taller during pubescence 
but also at seven and nine, a fact which may be due to some 
accident of numbers or may show some variation of growth 
since the same fact is noted in the results of several investi- 
gators. As mentioned before, the pubescent crossing of the 
curve is due to the earlier rapid growth of the girl. Some 
investigators think that the comparison should not be one 
of attainment at a given chronological age but rather should 
be between the percentages of adult height attained at a given 
age. 

Let us turn now to the analysis of the data on the basis 
of mental age. The accelerated boys are taller than the 
normal till twelve. At this age and all succeeding ages studied 
they are not so tall. On the other hand the retarded are 



6 THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 

shorter than the normal at all ages studied except eight and 
thirteen, when they are also taller than the accelerated. Thus 
the accelerated are taller than the retarded at all ages except 
eight and thirteen. If we compare the accelerated and the 
retarded girls the former are taller until the rapid growth 
period begins at eleven. At this age they are surpassed by the 
retarded who remain taller until fourteen. The delayed growth 
of the retarded girl in the earlier years seems to be compen- 
sated for by the three years of rapid growth from eleven to 
thirteen inclusive. Thus we find retarded boys to be taller at 
thirteen and girls at eleven, twelve and thirteen. This conclu- 
sion is not in accord with' Wiazemsky who found good pupils 
to be superior in height only during the period of rapid growth. 
The periodicity of growth is much more marked in the re- 
tarded than in either the accelerated or the normal. With the 
latter, growth is much more steady and uniform. With the 
retarded the earlier years mark a period of very little growth. 
This is followed by a period of acceleration perhaps shortened 
in time but compensated for by intensity. Some investigators 
think that this rapid growth can have only a harmful effect 
on the individual from the standpoint of the physical and the 
mental life. As to the cause of the extreme periodicity of 
growth we can not say. Some investigations indicate that 
this picture is usually accompanied by eft'ects which follow 
harmful conditions, namely the precipitate growth and the 
delay of puberty. (See Table L) 

Weight. Unlike height, which when once gained cannot be 
lost, weight varies greatly, is easily lost and gained. It is an 
experimental datum as Montessori (19) calls it, a barometer, 
an index of the child's health deserving of the most careful 
study. Environmental factors as illustrated in McKenzie's 
studies, deprivation, fatigue, anxiety, worry, malnutrition, ill- 
ness, all affect adversely the weight of the child. A careful 
study of the weight may not only reveal the effect of factors 
in the environment but may serve to reveal the strength or 
weakness of the child's organs. 

As with height, growth in weight is not uniform but 
rhythmic. There is in general a slight acceleration in girls 
at seven and in boys at eight. The following period of re- 
tardation in growth reaches its lowest with girls at nine and 
with boys at eleven. At about eleven the period of rapid 
acceleration of weight begins and lasts about four years. In 
the present study the growth in weight follows the usual 
course. There is little difference between the sexes until 
twelve. Girls are slightly superior at seven and nine. The 
pubertal superiority begins at twelve. As with height this 



THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 7 

superiority is due to the fact that the rapid growth period 
begins eariier with girls than with boys. The accelerated 
boys weigh less than the normal boys except at the ages seven, 
twelve and thirteen. Retarded boys are heavier than the 
normal at eight, twelve and thirteen. When compared with 
the accelerated the retarded are heavier at the ages of eight 
and thirteen. 

With girls the accelerated are lighter than the normal at 
all ages except thirteen and fourteen. Retarded girls are 
lighter than the normal until eleven, then heavier except at 
thirteen and fourteen. Retarded girls are lighter than the 
accelerated at eight but heavier in all other groups presented. 
While retarded boys are lighter than the accelerated at almost 
all ages, retarded girls are heavier at ten and subsequent ages. 

The gain in weight is not so uniform as the gain in height 
probably for the reasons mentioned in a preceding section. 
Nevertheless accelerated and normal show a rather uniform 
rate of growth until the rapid gain at puberty. With the re- 
tarded we have the law of compensation at work as in height. 
The rapid growth of puberty tends to bring both retarded boys 
and girls above the accelerated at this period, boys at thirteen 
and girls from eleven on. (See Table II.) 

Vital Capacity, The development of the chest is of the 
greatest importance. No part of the body undergoes greater 
changes. Hastings speaks of the want of breadth in the 
infant chest. Woods Hutchinson writes of the widening of 
the chest in the animal series. The human chest is almost 
unique, he writes, in that its transverse diameter is the greater. 
This transformation from the narrow almost animal form to 
the more human adult form is destined to receive greater 
consideration in the future than it has in the past. The rate 
of transformation will give us another index of the rate of 
the maturing of the individual. 

The circumference of the chest has received considerable 
attention especially in its relation to height. The general rule 
is that the chest circumference should equal half the total 
stature. This has been one of the determining marks for mili- 
tary fitness. It is generally conceded that the more the chest 
circumference exceeds half the height the greater is the vitality 
and the greater the ease with which the individual adjusts to 
the varying effects of the environmnt. The measurement of 
the chest must of necessity give some idea of the develop- 
ment of the lungs. These are the organs that furnish the 
means for the inter-communication between the blood and 
the oxygen which is so essential not only for all growth but 
for all functioning as well. The lungs are responsible for 



8 THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 

oxygenating the tissues of the body and in this way aid in 
cellular metabolism. If the lungs are relatively small then 
the body is without that factor of safety, metabolism is prob- 
ably slowed down and the amount of exertion under stress 
is limited. A large supply of oxygen stimulates interchange. 
The want of it reduces activity. For the growing person the 
rate of approach to maturity, the physiological age, is re- 
tarded. Two methods of measuring have been used by stu- 
dents of the mental and physical growth of school children, 
the chest circumference and spirometry or the measurement 
of vital capacity. Porter studied the girth of the chest of 
the school children of St. Louis and found that the bright 
children have a larger chest circumference than the dull. The 
results of Gratsianoff and Sach agree with Porter in this 
respect. Kline found the chest girth of truants to be less 
than that of public school children at all ages except at ten. 
Wiazemsky found good children, that is the bright, to be 
superior to the poor at all ages except twelve to thirteen and 
fourteen to fifteen. He also found that robust children were 
superior at all ages. Also those of good conduct were 
superior to those of bad at all ages except thirteen to fourteen 
and sixteen to seventeen. Not only did Wiazemsky point 
out the above but also the significant fact that the occupation 
reflects itself in the development of the chest. From the above 
it is safe to conclude that there is a correlation between school 
progress and chest circumference. 

While there must, it seems, be a high correlation between 
chest capacity as shown by chest circumference and vital 
capacity the two are not synonymous. Other investigators 
have used spirometry. Spirometry only measures directly the 
respiratory capacity and indirectly the pulmonary capacity. 
Gilbert found that there was no constant relationship be- 
tween mental ability and vital capacity until ten to fifteen when 
the duller children had the larger capacity. Smedley in his 
investigation found that the vital capacity was much greater 
in the children of higher school standing. Goddard has 
pointed out that the vital capacity of feeble-minded children 
is smaller than that of the normal. Montessori states that 
among children that are recognized as the brightest she has 
been able to recognize two categories, those who are excep- 
tionally intelligent and those who are exceptionally studious. 
The former have better chest development than the latter. 

In general vital capacity in its growth follows the same 
laws as weight, showing the same periods of retardation and 
acceleration. Practically all investigators have found that 
boys have larger vital capacities at all ages than girls. Bald- 



THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 9 

win's study shows girls with greater vital capacity between 
thirteen and fourteen. The present study would add also the 
ages of seven and nine. On the basis of mental age the accel- 
erated boys have better vital capacity than normal at all ages 
except eight and fourteen. The retarded are inferior to the 
normal except at eight, when they are equal, and at twelve. 
At no age do the retarded show a vital capacity equal to the 
accelerated except at eight. Accelerated girls are superior to 
normal at all ages except seven and twelve. The retarded 
are superior to the normal at thirteen and fourteen. At thir- 
teen the retarded are superior to the normal but at no other 
age. 

Thus accelerated boys have greater vital capacity than re- 
tarded at all ages except that of eight, when they are equal, 
and the same general rule is true of girls except for the age 
of thirteen. Again the same tendency toward a uniformity 
of growth is noticed for the accelerated and the normal. Also 
the same period of retardation in the earlier school years, 
followed by rapid growth, which is more marked with the 
retarded girls than with the boys. (See Table III.) 

Growth, which is an exceedingly complex process, manifests 
itself in three laws studied by many investigators but espe- 
cially discussed by Wiazemsky. First is the law of periodicity. 
According to this law, the growth of the organism is subject 
to accelerations and retardations. While this law is seen to 
an extent in all the groups studied it is much more noticeable 
in the retarded. It would seem that during the earlier school 
years some factor, or perhaps several is at work which tends 
to slow down the growth process. Baldwin, studying the 
taller and heavier children as a group found that the period 
of acceleration and arrest began and ended earlier with them 
than among those below the median height and weight. Then 
when development is arrested at any of its regular growth 
periods by unfavorable circumstances, there is a tendency for 
a later rapid growth to compensate for lost time. The brevity 
of the period of retardation is compensated for by the extent 
of growth and vice versa the slowness of the growth rate by 
the length of time. In the third place there is the law of 
correlation. The human body is wonderfully complex. If 
it is to grow and function properly there must be a proper 
correlation of its parts. The digestive system must be equal 
to the task of furnishing an adequate amount of nutritive 
material. The lungs must be large enough to supply not only 
the average need but also a factor of safety for the moments 
of intense effort. The heart and the arteries are responsible 
for conveying a sufficient amount of material to the growing 



10 THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 

and functioning parts. Unless such a correlation exists 
growth can not be equal and uniform. Some parts must 
grow at the expense of others. Protective measures for the 
preserving of energy must arise. On this point in the absence 
of further investigation we can not speak. As the matter now 
stands, the brighter children are those who seem to have this 
balance or even an excess on the side of vital capacity. The 
other systems mentioned have not been studied in this con- 
nection. 

On the basis of mental age, accelerated boys are as a rule 
taller and heavier and have larger vital capacities than the 
retarded, while with the girls studied the retarded excel in 
height and weight during the rapid growth period and also 
in vital capacity at the age of thirteen. This of necessity 
means that there are many groups of accelerated that are 
below the average of their age in the measurements mentioned. 
This was recognized by Porter and the investigators follow- 
ing him. It was pointed out by these that the small acceler- 
ated were taller and heavier than the small retarded. 

If height and weight are to be considered as expressions 
of physiological age as many think, and the writer believes 
that this is true of the average, then it would seem that chil- 
dren must be differentiated into types. Then as a rule the 
taller and heavier for the type would be physiologically the 
more mature. But it is yet a question whether or not this 
would solve the problem. For one would have yet in 
classifying a child to determine whether it was a case of 
type or physiological retardation, in which case the height 
and weight would be the result of some unfavorable factor 
acting upon the growth process. Is there not some under- 
lying principle which will harmonize the conflicting data? 
Not only the energy of growth but the energy of work hangs 
on the metabolic balance. With the production of work there 
must be consumption of fuel either of food or of body 
material. In work of course this consumption is greatly in 
excess over rest. Probably in no organ is the demand for 
quick change so great as in the brain. There is growing 
evidence that the oxygen consumption of the brain is greater 
than previously thought and it has already been shown that 
there is a direct relation between the rate of recovery from 
fatigue and the rate of transmission of the nerve current. In 
view of these facts it seems reasonable that Whipple's state- 
ment of the vital index is correct, that the vital index, the ratio 
of vital capacity to weight " expresses the balance between 
body size and the rate and completeness with which oxida- 
tion of the blood is or may be affected." 



THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT U 

The vital index should it seems give a rough measure of 
the endurance of the subject and of his recuperative powers. 
The subject with the higher vital index would then do the 
greater amount of work. It was shown by illustration in 
the preliminary work that those children of a given age who 
were the farther advanced had the higher vital indices. 

Kotelman in 1878 was the first to study lung capacity in 
relation to weight and pointed out the fact that lung capacity 
increased slightly faster than weight. This conclusion was con- 
firmed by Vierordt. Bobbett in 1909 studied the vital index of 
Philippine children. Since then Pyle (22) has figured the vital 
index for Smedley's data showing that the vital index for boys 
is almost constant at 25 cc. per pound of weight and for girls 
23 cc. until eleven. There is then a gradual decrease until 
fourteen. At this age the index is 21 cc. Baldwin also gives 
the vital index in his studies of growth. 

Our method of classification permits the study of the vital 
indices of the different groups. At the ages of seven and 
nine the vital indices of boys and girls are practically the 
same. At all other ages boys have the higher vital indices. 
Compared with Smedley's data the vital index of the boy 
throughout is about the same. The girls do not show the 
progressive drop after the age of eleven. At the age of eight 
in our table the average vital index of the accelerated boy 
is slightly lower than that of the normal. But at no age is 
the vital index of the retarded as high as that of the acceler- 
ated. ^ Consequently there is a marked difference between the 
vital indices of the accelerated and the retarded boys. With 
the accelerated girls the vital index is higher at all ages than 
that of the retarded. However at ten the retarded slightly 
surpass the normal. But as with boys there is a marked 
difference between accelerated girls and the retarded. Regard- 
less of age the accelerated show a relatively high vital index 
while the retarded are relatively low. (See Table IV.) 

There is undoubtedly a high correlation between the results 
of the Binet scale and the teacher's estimate, also between 
the teacher's estimate and the grade position. So classifica- 
tion on these bases should show the same differences in vital 
indices although not so great. For the purpose of deter- 
mining, the vital indices were figured for the work of Gilbert 
at Yale and the study of Smedley. V^ith Gilbert's study the 
bright, on the basis of the teachers' estimate, show the higher 
vital indices at all ages except those of eleven and twelve. 
The Iowa study does not give as high a correlation. Of the 
total number of ages studied by Gilbert at Iowa the dull show 
the lower vital indices in eight and the higher in the remaining 



12 THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 

four. Smedley classified the Chicago children into two groups 
on the basis of the grade age position as follows, those at and 
above grade and those below grade. The at and above grade 
group shows the higher vital index at every age except eight 
and ten. It is to be expected that the difference will be 
greater in the upper grade, where there is a greater accumula- 
tion of retarded on this method of classification. The below 
grade girls have the higher indices at ten and eleven and are 
equal to the at and above grade group at thirteen. When 
compared with the at and above grade boys, the boys from 
the John Worthy school for truants show lower vital indices 
except at the ages of nine and twelve. (See Table IV.) 

From the above comparisons, in spite of differences of 
classification, technique, etc., one fact stands out and that is 
that accelerated children, regardless of the method of classi- 
fication, show at almost every age the higher vital indices. We 
believe that the vital index is much more closely correlated 
with acceleration and retardation than height, weight or vital 
capacity, and that it is a measure which will harmonize the 
otherwise conflicting data. 

Is there any relation between a high or a low vital index 
and the development of the child? If it is shown that a 
relation exists, then the problem becomes an important one 
for education and hygiene. The vital index can be increased 
by training which decreases surplus weight and increases the 
vital capacity. This increase means a better aeration of the 
blood and, it would seem, an increase in metabolism which 
would show in endurance and resistance to fatigue or, in 
other words, in a greater output of work. 

It will be objected that spirometry is not altogether a meas- 
ure of vital capacity. This objection is not without founda- 
tion but we believe that the evidence at present shows or at 
least indicates strongly that the retarded children have smaller 
chests and presumably smaller lungs due, w^e believe, to a 
physiological retardation. It was shown by Porter that those 
children who were below grade had the smaller chests. 

While the measurements of height, weight and vital capacity 
are of undoubted value they do not give a complete picture 
of child development. Growth is more than an addition of 
mass or stature. At birth the child is quite different from 
the adult in its body proportions. Its growth is an onto- 
genetic development passing from the form and proportion 
of the infant to that of puberty and then on to that of the 
adult. This ontogenetic development can best be traced by 
the indices of growth, that is, by the relation of weight to 
height, the height-weight index, by the ratio of sitting to 



THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 13 

Standing height and by the ratio of chest circumference to 
height. Not having in mind at the time of collecting the 
above data the question raised above, the measurements for 
tracing all these changes were not made, nor is there any- 
single study which enables one to trace all these changes in 
the same group. However, data of those investigations in 
which the vital index differences have been shown give some 
idea of the relationships which we are seeking to establish. 

The height-weight index " expresses the comparative solid- 
ity or robustness of the individual and other things being equal 
his general nutrition. There have been two methods of obtain- 
ing the height-weight index. The division of the weight by 
the height gives the proportion of mass for a given unit of 
height. The most important conclusion on the basis of this 
method is that the weight increases somewhat faster than the 
height. This method is held to be faulty by many because 
it is a comparison of a linear measure with a volume and 
the resulting indices do not show the transformations of the 
body as it approaches maturity. It is a matter of common 
observation that young children have a relatively large pro- 
portion of weight for their height, that is, are, as we say, 
plump. They become thinner before puberty and heavier 
afterwards. The above method does not bring out this fact. 
The method used in this connection is expressed by the fol- 
lowing formula. The height-weight index equals one hundred 
times the cube root of the weight divided by the stature. 
There is a gradual decrease in the indices until just before 
puberty. From this time until about the age of seventeen 
the index remains rather constant and then begins to rise as 
the individual takes on weight, following the pubertal transi- 
tion. An important study cited by Montessori brings out the 
fact that the height-weight index of the studious is lower 
than that for the non-studious. Also that the index is higher 
for the feeble-minded than for the normal. Consequently she 
thinks that the sole cause of the physical inferiority of studious 
children is cerebral fatigue. 

Calculating for our own groups and also for Smedley and 
for Gilbert, the height-weight indices bring out the fact that 
there is a tendency for the retarded to show the higher indices. 
(See Table V.) 

The second important index is that of the relation of sitting 
to standing height. This ratio may very well represent the 
physiological efficiency of the individual. In fact, Collignon 
spoke of it as the essential stature. This index also enables 
us to trace the rate of development of the growing child. In 
early childhood there is an exaggerated trunk length. The 



14 THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 

vegetative life is then the most important. With growth this 
excess gradually decreases until it is least at puberty, fol- 
lowing which there is a gradual increase in the excess of trunk 
length, a return as it were to the more childlike proportion. 
Thus growth in height until puberty is mainly due to growth 
of the long bones of the legs. As Godin pointed out, at puberty 
the lower limbs have a greater dimension in proportion to 
total height than at any other time. After puberty the pro- 
portion of the trunk for boys) increases until about seventeen, 
after which the individual may grow in height but the pro- 
portion remains rather constant. With girls the proportion 
of the trunk continues to increase after this age. 

The deviation from the norm of a given age represents in 
the growing child either a retarded or an accelerated develop- 
ment; and in connection with the other indices gives us a 
measure of the rate of approach to maturity. 

A study of the Smedley groups not only bears out this 
generalization but shows a close relation between the rate of 
development and the vital index. Those with the higher, show 
the more rapid transformation, while the below grade are the 
retarded and show the lower vital indices. These differences 
are seen when we compare the retarded and the accelerated 
girls also with the two groups of the boys and again when 
we compared the at and above grade boys and the boys from 
the John Worthy School. (See Table VI.) 

We do not have the data to show the relation existing be- 
tween the ratio of chest circumference on the one hand and 
the vital index on the other. However retarded children have 
a smaller chest circumference than accelerated as was shown 
by Porter. There is a need of study of all of these relation- 
ships in the same group of children. 

While no thoroughgoing conclusion can be drawn, yet as 
a general rule accelerated boys are taller, weigh more and 
have the greater vital capacity. Accelerated girls have the 
greater vital capacity but the retarded are taller and heavier 
during the greater part of the rapid growth period. With 
both the boys and girls the vital index of the accelerated is 
greater at all ages than that of the retarded. With weight 
the reverse is true. The retarded show a greater proportion 
of weight per unit of height than do the accelerated. There 
are, however, exceptions to this rule, but the general tendency 
seems to be for the accelerated to show the lower proportion 
of mass with the higher vital index, as it were a relatively 
low mass highly oxygenated. The opposite holds for the re- 
tarded. The study of the ratio of sitting to standing height 
brings out the fact that those children with the higher vital 



THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT I5 

quently then compulsory school entrance at Ste of sTx" 
must mean that a large number of the entering children a e 
faiurTi/Se" r^r"^ °' '"^"'^">' '"'^ - afe doomed o 
Srk iaJv of tT ""T"""' 1 ^^'^'y ""'f°™ ^t-"dard oi 

d Tcriied . ^''" f'' '^"f ^''°" '^ "'^^'l whethi^he two group 
.fS^of^^dTatSrTnt t^at:i^^WiU^ =^1^ 1 '^^'^ 

£tS^°^'!^tSSifil~^^^^ 

wClrfehn:^ U'L'thfup'rS" T^^ ^'f °^ *°- 
't^rr'^ -bject of\Tera;j:t;^estiSfo'n'°™^^'^^' '^ 

^°r F™9°",-^^^ 

Tranmg School who made possible the collection of the dafa 

ffTrc^h'LTs:^^^^^^^^ 

and suggestion, gave so generously of thei; W '''"" 

TABLE I 
Height in Inches 

i-::::::: si is ts as m ii ii k ii 

Boys 

Ret ^^ 5?g ^^-^ ^?-5 56.1 57.5 60.0 63.4 67.0 

^"^-^ •••• 51.5 52.0 55.5 60.5 58.0 64.0 

Girls 

Norm:;:;;: lo ios IH ^U i®? ^e.o 60.3 es.o .... 

Ret 50 3 ^^-^ 1^? f4.7 57.8 59.2 59.3 62.0 

"'^■■^ ■■■■ 52.5 57. 57.5 62.8 61.7 64.3 

testing one year and not more iC^r^ bTow !?,? ch?o^n'?,;^^a. a^e?" 



16 



THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 









TABLE : 


II 














Weight in Pounds 








Age 

Boys 

Girls 


7 
. 49.8 
. 54.7 


8 
61.3 
57.3 


9 
60.4 
63.7 


10 
67.8 
64.3 


11 
75.5 
72.3 


12 
81.1 
79.7 


13 

90.6 

100.1 


14 15 

87.0 116.5 

107.1 113.0 


Boys 

Ac 

Norm 

Ret 


. 51.0 

. 46.5 


61.0 
61.0 
65.0 


59.4 
61.7 


69.6 
71.5 
59.0 


72.6 
78.3 
64.0 


82.2 

77.0 
82.0 


91.3 
89.0 
94.5 


84.5 .... 
93.0 137.0 
82.3 114.0 


Girls 

Ac 

Norm 

Ret 


. 44.0 
. 60.5 


58.0 
61.5 
53.0 


62.5 

65.4 


60.0 
68.0 
61.0 


70.0 
72.0 
76.0 


70.0 
83.2 
77.8 


96.6 

85.4 

121.2 


101.0 .... 
100.0 116.0 
112.8 112.0 



TABLE III 

Vital Capacity in Liters 



Age 

Boys 

Girls 


7 
1.24 
1.23 


8 
1.53 
1.30 


9 

1.50 
1.59 


10 
1.76 
1.64 


11 
2.01 

1.77 


12 
2.18 
1.90 


13 
2.34 
2.36 


14 
2.15 
2.35 


15 

2.98 
2.63 


Boys 

Ac 

Norm 

Ret 


1.30 
1.15 


1.50 
1.55 
1.50 


1.60 
1.37 


1.94 
1.75 
1.35 


2.07 
2.02 
1.50 


2.60 
1.95 
1.75 


2.60 
2.25 
2.25 


2.30 
2.36 
2.10 


3."66 
2.91 


Girls 

Ac 

Norm 

Ret 


1.20 
1.30 


1.53 
1.45 
1.00 


1.63 
1.57 


1.80 
1.63 
1.50 


1.90 
1.66 
1.60 


1.90 
2.40 
1.72 


2.47 
2.06 
2.65 


2.80 
2.25 
2.38 


3.66 
2.50 








TABLE IV 
















Vital Index 










Age 

Boys 

Girls 


7 
24.9 
22.5 


8 
24.9 
22.8 


9 

24.8 
24.9 


10 
25.9 
25.5 


11 
26.6 
24.5 


12 
26.9 
23.8 


13 
25.8 
23.6 


14 
24.7 
21.9 


15 
25.6 
23.3 


Boys 

Ac 

Norm 

Ret 


25.5 

24.7 


24.6 
25.4 
23.1 


26.7 
22.2 


27.9 
24.6 
22.9 


28.5 
25.7 
23.4 


30.4 
25.3 
21.3 


28.5 
25.3 
23.9 


27.2 
25.4 
23.5 


26^2 
25.5 


Girls 

Ac 

Norm 

Ret 


27.3 
21.5 


26.0 
23.6 
18.9 


26.2 
24.2 


30.0 
23.9 
24.6 


27.1 
23.1 
21.1 


27.1 
24.5 
22.1 


25.6 
24.2 
21.9 


27.7 
22.5 
21.1 


25.'9 
22.3 


Smedley Boys 
At and above grade 

Below grade 

John Worthy School 


25.1 
26.3 


25.8 
24.9 
26.1 


25.0 
25.5 
25.0 


25.3 
25.0 
24.4 


25.4 
24.3 
25.7 


25.5 
25.2 
24.8 


25.0 
25.0 
25.1 


26.3 
24.7 
24.5 



THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 



17 



TABLE TV— Continued 
Girls 
At and above grade 23 . 
Below grade 22.7 

Gilbert— Yale Study 

Bright 22.1 21.9 

Dull 20.8 20.1 



.3 
.9 


22.6 
23.4 


22.4 
22.5 


21.8 
21.1 


20.6 
20.6 


20.6 
20.3 


20.6 
19.1 


.8 
.1 


21.4 
19.3 


21.7 
21.9 


20.8 
21.7 


22.6 
18.9 


19.4 
17.3 


21.8 
19.9 



TABLE V 

Height- Weight Index 
Boys 

Age 7 8 9 10 11 12 

Ac 22.9 23.9 22.7 22.6 22.3 23.5 

Ret 23.3 .... 22.7 23.3 23.5 

Girls 

Ac 21.9 22.8 23.0 22.4 22.1 22.1 

Ret 22.7 22.7 22.3 22.9 

Smedley Boys 

At and above grade 23.8 23.1 23.2 23.2 23.1 

Below grade 23.5 23.5 23.5 23.3 23.3 

John Worthy School .... 23.5 23.9 23.6 23.6 

Girls 

At and above grade 23.4 23.1 23.1 22.8 22.8 

Below grade 23.5 23.2 23.4 22.9 22.9 

Gilbert 

Bright 23.4 23.0 23.2 22.4 22.8 

Dull 23.6 23.3 22.9 21.6 22.8 



13 
22.7 
22.6 



23.2 
23.8 



22.9 
23.0 



22.7 
22.8 



14 
21.8 
22.7 



22.4 
23.6 



23.1 
23.1 



22.8 
22.4 



15 
23'6 



22.7 



23.0 23.0 22.9 

23.1 22.9 23.2 
23.5 23.4 23.4 



23.3 
23.1 



22.1 
22.8 



TABLE VI 

Ratio of Sitting to Total Stature 
Smedley Boys 

Age 8 9 10 11 12 13 

At and above grade 54.8 54.0 53.5 53.1 52.5 52.1 

Belowgrade 55.1 54.7 53.8 53.3 52.9 52.2 

John Worthy School .... 53.7 54.5 53.6 53.4 52.6 

Girls 

At and above grade 53.9 54.0 53.5 53.1 52.7 52.6 

Belowgrade 55.4 54.3 53.8 53.4 53.1 52.8 



14 
52.1 
52.2 
52.9 



52.9 
52.1 



15 
52.0 
51.8 
51.0 



53.4 
53.1 



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For a complete bibliography on the subject of growth the 
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2. BuRGERSTEiN, L. Some remarks on the relations of body and 

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Phys. Ed. Rev., Vol. 5, pp. 149-160. 



18 THE VITAL INDEX IN DEVELOPMENT 

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